Profile: In 341.2 innings spanning seven different levels in the minors over eight seasons, Rhiner Cruz has shown an ability to strike batters out (8.5 per nine). However, that comes with an inability to throw consistent strikes as evidenced by his 5.5 walks per nine over the same time frame. Drafted from the Mets with the first pick in Rule 5 draft last season, Cruz got his first look in the majors in 2012. The good news is that Cruz pitched better than his standard numbers would suggest. The bad news is Cruz still pitched to a 4.79 xFIP and 6.00 ERA over 55 innings. It should be noted though that Cruz has excellent velocity (95.1 average mph on his fastball) and likely wasn't the first pick in the Rule 5 draft for no good reason. Cruz is able to pitch in the minors this year, and there is no guarantee he makes the ball club out of spring training. The Astros current closer at the moment is Jose Veras and the players behind him aren't much more intriguing, though. Stranger things have happened in baseball and if Cruz can improve his control, he'll surely be pitching in the majors and might just pitch in the later innings. (Ben Pasinkoff)

The Quick Opinion: The Astros likely won't be very good in 2013. They will need pitchers to pitch innings. Rhiner Cruz might be one of those pitchers.